Clothes closets



Jan. 12, 1965 R. c. HUGHES ETAL 3,165,358

CLOTHES CLOSETS Filed Dec. 12, 1963 INVENTORS RAY C. HUGHES 8| JAMES T. HUGHES BYQM ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,165,368 CLOTHES CLOSETS Ray C. Hughes, 135 Lock Trail, and James T. Hughes, 915 Person St., both ofFayetteville, N.C. Filed Dec. 12, 1963, Ser. No.'330,094 4 Claims. (Cl. 312-242) -This invention pertains to clothes closets, and more particularly to supporting means for clothes and accessories" to bemounted on the inner side of the door of a clothes closet such. as is found in homes, hotels and similar accommodations.

Clothes closets of the type now commonly used consist of a 24" x 42" compartmentand' door in the longer front Wall thereof. The garments are usually hung upon a rod runningcrosswise the door opening, or on separate rods, one at either side of the door and running from thefront to the rear wall of the closet. In both construction's, when the door is opened a large portion. of the garments hung upon the rods are partially concealed at; the rear ofthe closet, or in the nooks at either side of the door opening. The aforementioned arrangements involve considerable wasted space, since provision must be made for one to step into the closet to gain access to and select apparel. Further, conventional clothes closets are ill lighted, and this. often leads to fumbling about in withdrawing a garment. a

With the foregoing in mind, it is the primary object of this; invention to provide a clothes closet whereinthe entire space Within the closet is, in practice, usable for storage ofclothes and furnishings.

Another object of this invention is to provide a clothes. closet wherein substantially all the clothes hung therein may be readily moved bodily out into the room for selection, withdrawal or replacement of garments.

A further object of this invention isto'provide a closet so, designed and constructed that no normal room space need be reserved for the clothes to be moved bodily out into the room.

A still further object of this invention is to provide. a closet of the kind "aforementioned having no movable parts other than the door itself. I

Another object, ofthis invention is to provide a closet in which the means upon which the clothes are hung is supported on the rear of the door to swing. out into the room upon opening the door.

Yet anotherfobject f this. invention is to provide a closet of the kind; aforementioned which can be marketed at a price competitive with conventional closests. Furtherand lesser objects will become apparent from the following description and the accompanyingdrawings, in-which .j

FIG. '1 is; an elevation of our invention as applied to a closet door, the doorbeing shown in near fully open position; e i

FIG. 2 is an elevation similar to FIG. 1, with the door in partially closed position; and

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic cross-section, illustrating the application of ouninvention to a two-door closet;

Referring now in detail to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals designate corresponding parts in each of the several figures, 10 designates the door jamb defining the opening of a closet 11. A door 12 is pivoted on the right hand side of the jamb, and upon the rear or inner side of this door the support structure 13 for clothes and/or furnishings of the present invention is mounted. The door may be of any desired type or design and width; but where a hollow core type door is employed, it should incorporate a reinforcing crosspiece (not shown) on the order of 13" wide and extending across the upper portion of the door about 12 inches ice from the top thereof. The door shown is of the solid type, standard size 32 x 80". The door opening may be located anywhere along the front of the closet, and is illustrated as extending almost to the left interior wall 14 of the closet.

The present invention includes an upper tray 15, a lower tray 16, both secured to the inner .wall of door 12, with braces 17, for the. upper tray, and three vertical rods 18, 19 and 20 interconnecting the trays, and a clothes hanger rod 21 supported from the under side of the upper tray, as will presently be explained in detail.

Each of the trays has a flange 22 extending around its periphery, and each tray is of the shape best shown in FIG. 3; that is, each tray is elongate and of a width slightly less than the depth of the closet.

. of the trays adjacent the hinged edge of the door is formed with a rectangular cut-away area 24 corresponding generally with the inner wall 25 of the closet adjacent the hinged edge of the door; while the diagonally opposite portion 26 is curved or 'arcuate to permit clearance of the jamb during opening of the door, as shown in FIG. 2. In practice, we have found it entirely feasible to employ A thick plywood for the body 27 of the trays, while for the outer edging or'peripheral flange 22 we use A" x 2" birch plywood, bent and fastened to the periphery of body 27 by glue and sprigs or equivalent fastening devices. The. portion 28 of the flange which engages the door preferably is 1" x 3" oak strip. This strip rests upon the edge of body 27 and is secured in place by a combination of glue and nails passing through body 27 and into said strip. For a standard 24" x 4 closet, the tray size should be on the order of 23" x 38" maximum.

- The upper tray 15 is positioned horizontally across the inner wall .of the door about 14 inches below its upper edge, and fastened to the door as by screws 29 passing through strip28 and into the body of the door. Two supporting braces 17 are provided under the upper trayl These braces are disposed on the order of 20 inches apart. In practice, the braces are tubular steel members, each 17" in length, and each brace has flattened ends 30 disposed at the proper angle .to contact the door and body respectively; A screw passes through one end of each hraee andinto the door, and another through theopposite end of each. brace. and into the under side of body 27; ,The braces, as is allother hardware herein described,

maybe plated as desired, for ornamentation and/ or protection of the clothes housed within the closet.

The lower tray 16 is substantially a duplicate. of the upper tray save that the height of the inner flange strip '1 28.n1ay be reduced, since the lower tray carries relatively little weight, to provide a uniform peripheral flange.

The three vertical rods 18, 19 and 2 0 interconnect the upper and lower tray, there being one rod ateach of the inner corners '31 of the trays, andthe third rod 20 being located centrally of arcuate. portion 26.; vFor lightness and convenience of assembling the supporting means the. rods are in the form of tubes. The upper end portion 32 of each. rod is flattened andbent at right angle to a horizontal position and a fastener in the. form of a screw or bolt passes through the flattened portion of each rod and into the body 27 of the upper tray. The lower end portion 33 of each rod is flattened and extends along the inner wall of the flange 22 of the lower tray, where a screw passes through each and into the flange. The arrangement described presents a structure of marked strength and rigidity. The lower tray will sustain an average man without material distortion of the supporting structure.

To the underside of the upper tray 15 is attached a clothes hanger rod 21. Rod 21 is of a length substantial- The corner 23' 1y corresponding to the maximum length of the upper tray, and it is formed of metal tubing the ends'of which the tray, the threaded upper end of-each bolt terminating above the surface of' the tray and receiving a nut thereon. A sleeve 35 surrounds each bolt between the rod andthe underside of the tray and maintains the rod in properly spaced relation to the tray. The hanger is provisionally flattened slightly at the points where the bolts pass through it, but these flattened areas are insufficient to weaken the portion 36 of therod that projects therebeyond.

The upper end portions of rods 18 and 19 are formed with aligned openings, and the ends of a tie or belt supporting rod 37 extend into said openings and are secured to said rods. A plurality of spaced vertically extending pins 38 are mounted in rod 37 for spacing ties or belts supported thereon. In addition to its function as a tie support, rod 37 adds to the rigidity of the entire clothes supporting means.

As indicated above, it is necessary to round off the trays at 26 in order for the clothes support to swing with the door out into the room, and this arrangement leaves a space within the closet corresponding to the area vof the material removed from the rounded portion of the trays. To fully avail of this space, we mount a series of vertically spaced shelves 39 in the corner of the closet adjacent the arcuate portion of the trays. These shelves are in the generalform of right triangles, the hypotenuse of each being curved corresponding to that of the arcuate portion of the trays. In the event that the free edge of thedoor is spaced substantially from the adjacent side wall 14 of-the closet, shelves 39 may be extended to the front wall of the closet. 7

As shown in FIG. 3, the present invention is applicable to closets having double doors, and in this event 'the shelves 39 will take a form resembling isosceles triangles,- each mounted directly behind the juncture of the doors, with their edges curved corresponding to the trays. It is also clear from FIG. 3 that the present invention isapplicable to doors pivoted to swing from either side of the jamb 10.

The present invention is readily applicable to existing doors and can be installed with ease by home owners. On new doors, to facilitate application of the present invention, the points where screws are to be placed will be clearly marked on the door, or provisionally drilled at the mill. For standard size doors, conventional house type hinges are sufiicient to sustain the present unit and the clothes and/ or furnishings normally carried thereby. Where the door is exceptionally wide and heavy, however, it is advisable to employ over-size hinges and correspond ingly heavy screws therefor.

In use, furnishings, such as hats, may be placed onthe upper tray; while shoes and accessories may be placed on the lower tray. Where exceptionally long articles such as evening dresses, are hung on the hanger rod, the lower tray may serve to support the lower portion of such garments against being swished about the floor. Manifestly,

I when the door is swunglto the open position of FIG. 1,

everything carried on the trays and hanger rod is clearly in view and accessible. At this stage the interior of the closet is completely open for access to shelves 39 and for cleaning the floor and walls of the closet.

While in the foregoing descriptioncertain specific details of our] invention have been set forth, it is to be understood that modifications of the invention may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

We claim:

. 1. In combination with a clothes closet'door, a tray having a sturdy periphery flange a portion of which is straight and of a length substantially equal tothewidth of saiddoor, said straight portion of the flange of said tray being fixed to the inner-side of said door 'on the order of 16 inches from the :top thereof, said tray being of a length substantially equal to the width of said door plus the distance fronrthe hinge jamb of the door to the adjacent side wall of the closet, oneend of the tray being formed with a rectangularv cut-out of a width and length substantiallyv corresponding to the thickness of the front wall of said closet and the distance of the hinge from said side wall, the diagonal corner thereof being'rounded sufficient to permit said tray to swing with said doorout into the room, spaced brace members each having one end connected to the center portion of the underside of said tray and the opposite end 'fixed to said door, a straight clothes hanger rod disposed beneath said tray in spaced relation thereto and parallel with said door, spaced fasteners passing through said hanger rod and said tray, and a tubular spacer member surrounding each fastener between said rod and said tray.

2. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said tray is fixed to said door by means of headed fasteners passing through said flange and into said door.

3.;The apparatuses definedin claim 1, further including three pendent rods'each fixed at one end to the underside of said tray, oneof said pendent rods being-located at each of the corners of said tray adjacent said sidewall of the closet, and the third rod being located medially of the curved portion of said tray, a lower flanged tray of 'the identical configuration of the first tray disposed References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 792,827.

6/05 Holbrook' 312-329); 1,228,560 6/17 Hunter V W 312-300 1,408,359 2/22 Kruckewitt 108-29 2,061,453 11/36 Crosley 312-438 2,518,242. 8/50 McMahon 312-329 X "2,564,485 8/51 Kurstin 312 -242 X FOREIGN PATENTS r 471,253 1 9/37 Great Britain.

FRANK B. SHERRY, Primary Examiner. CHANCELLOR E. HARRIS, Examiner. 

1. IN COMBINATION WITH A CLOTHES DOOR, A TRAY HAVING A STURDY PERIPHERY FLANGE A PORTION OF WHICH IS STRAIGHT AND OF A LENGTH SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL TO THE WIDTH OF SAID DOOR, SAID STRAIGHT PORTION OF THE FLANGE OF SAID TRAY BEING FIXED TO THE INNER SIDE OF SAID DOOR ON THE ORDER OF 16 INCHES FROM THE TOP THEREOF, SAID TRAY BEING OF A LENGTH SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL TO THE WIDTH OF SAID DOOR PLUS THE DISTANCE FROM THE HINGE JAMB OF THE DOOR TO THE ADJACENT SIDE WALL OF THE CLOSET, ONE END OF THE TRAY BEING FORMED WITH A RECTANGULAR CUT-OUT OF A WIDTH AND LENGTH SUBSTANTIALLY CORRESPONDING TO THE THICKNESS OF THE FRONT WALL OF SAID CLOSET AND THE DISTANCE OF THE HINGE FROM SAID SIDE WALL, THE DIAGONAL CORNER THEREOF BEING ROUNDED SUFFICIENT TO PERMIT SAID TRAY TO SWING WITH SAID DOOR OUT INTO THE ROOM, SPACED BRACE MEMBERS EACH HAVING ONE END CONNECTED TO THE CENTER PORTION OF THE UNDERSIDE OF SAID TRAY AND THE OPPOSITE END FIXED TO SAID DOOR, A STRAIGHT CLOTHES HANGER ROD DISPOSED BENEATH SAID TRAY IN SPACED RELATION THERETO AND PARALLEL WITH SAID DOOR, SPACED FASTENERS PASSING THROUGH SAID HANGER ROD AND SAID TRAY, AND A TUBULAR SPACER MEMBER SURROUNDING EACH FASTENER BETWEEN SAID ROD AND SAID TRAY. 